AGM 0063 – Favor
Qin Wentian, agreed as he nodded his head. In this cultivation-oriented world, there was no sense of justice or fairness. Back then, when he killed Orfon, he would certainly have been prosecuted by the academy were it not for his outstanding talent.
“Although the world runs this way, humans have to firmly hold onto their own beliefs. Even if they defy the rules, I admire those with personality and a conscience. However, there are also some that broke the rules solely to advance their own selfish greed, betraying all for the sake of benefits. Such cultivators, if the Emperor Star Academy allowed them to grow and continue nurturing them, might destroy the academy one day if they were offered tremendous benefits. If that were the case, they would surely agree.”
Ren Qianxing laughed as he continued, “You, however, are different. Last year, when the Ye Clan wanted to annihilate the Qin Clan, you could have easily chosen the route of self-protection, thrown your lot in with the Star River a.s.sociation, and seeked revenge in the future after you become strong. On the contrary, you did not do so. You chose to live and die by the side of the Qin Clan. Even though that was a foolish choice, I’m not condemning you, because this is exactly what I like about you.”
The incident was known to everyone in Sky Harmony City. At that time, Mustang had been there as well. It wouldn’t be strange that Ren Qianxing knew about this. Hints of laughter could be seen on Qin Wentian’s face. “Seems like senior and Elder Mustang have the same way of thinking. Could senior be the princ.i.p.al of the Emperor Star Academy?”
“No.” Ren Qianxing shook his head, “I was the 2nd student, the one that was imprisoned for many years. Of course, that was merely a rumor, and you can’t believe all of it. I merely decided not to appear in front of the ma.s.ses.”
“Seems like that are still many secrets in the Emperor Star Academy.” Qin Wentian silently exclaimed in his heart.
“Senior, with the ruckus I created this time around, I’m afraid that I’ve caused much trouble for the academy.” Qin Wentian glanced at Ren Qianxing.
“You wish to know how the academy will handle the incident? That was your aim behind your earlier statement, right?” A knowing look flashed in Ren Qianxing’s eyes, causing Qin Wentian to laugh in embarra.s.sed.
“This little bit of ruckus couldn’t even be considered trouble for the academy, but you have indeed brought trouble onto yourself.” Ren Qianxing continued indifferently, “The Emperor Star Academy already had a few thousand years of history, and the members in there, regardless of Elders or students, all had their own thoughts and ways of doing things. But it was precisely this that created a compet.i.tive atmosphere in the academy. Only this way could the academy be considered to be ‘complete’.”
“The Emperor Star Academy had never once bothered to care about the personalities of its students. It only focused on grooming and nurturing their cultivation. Regardless of whether you are a saint or an evil murderer, the academy doesn’t care about what you will become in the future. That’s why the Emperor Star Academy still holds its current status. Even now, the academy is still ranked number one out of the four great academies. Hence, the matter between you and Orchon, the academy wouldn’t interfere with it. Here in the academy, there is only a single stage. How high can you soar depends on your own abilities.”
Ren Qianxing laughed, “And as for me asking for you to be brought over, I merely wanted to see what sort of man you are. The genius who caused the academy to turn topsy-turvy so soon after joining. Now, since we’ve already met, you can go back now.”
“Hmm.” Qin Wentian blinked his eyes, “That’s all?”
“Haha, what else do you want?” Ren Qianxing smiled as he regarded Qin Wentian.
“I thought that there would be some surprises in store for me since I met a legend of the academy.” Qin Wentian touched his chin while grinning.
“Haha.” Ren Qianxing started laughing uproariously, “Fine, since you want surprises, I will give this to you.”
Ren Qianxing brought out a tiny golden-colored sword that contained a terrifyingly sharp sword qi. It was about the size of a finger.
“This is a Goldem Sword, a 3rd-grade Divine Weapon. However, it can only be utilised once. As long as one activates the Divine Imprint inscripted within, the sword qi of the Goldem Sword will be activated. Not even a 5th level Yuanfu cultivator would be able to defend against that sword qi if he took the full brunt of the attack. The radius of attack, as well as the area of effect, is immense. Be careful when using this sword.”
An intense light flickered in the depths of Qin Wentian’s eyes. This was such a valuable item. Of course, he knew that for 3rd-grade Divine Weapons meant for long-term usage, the explosive power contained within could not be compared to this single-use Goldem sword. This could essentially be treated as a life-saving treasure.
“In the academy, I wouldn’t give you special treatment or bestow favoritism. If you want resources, depend on yourself to fight for them. There are many terrifying innate techniques and cultivation arts stored in the Heavenly Star Pavilion. If you are capable, obtain them yourself. As for the matter of this Goldem sword, I’m giving it to you as a means to ensure your safety. After all, you created huge waves of commotion so soon after joining the academy, so there are bound to be many who want your death. This is for you to protect your life. Remember, do not rashly use it unless you’re in a life-or-death situation.”
“Thank you Senior Ren.” Qin Wentian felt grat.i.tude in his heart. What he needed most was precisely this type of lifesaving treasures. After all, Ren Qianxing was right, he had made truckloads of enemies. Don’t even mention the Royal Clan or the Ye Clan. He would be hard pressed even if he wanted to deal with Orchon.
“You can go, don’t tell anyone that you’ve met me, including Mustang.” Ren Qianxing waved his hands indicating that Qin Wentian could return.
“Wentian shall humbly take my leave.” Qin Wentian respectfully bent his waist, bowing to Ren Qianxing, before turning around and departing. A suns.h.i.+ne-like radiant smile blossomed on his face. It was inconceivable to imagine that this was the same youth as the crazed, bloodl.u.s.t filled youth that killed Murong Feng.
Looking at the departing back view of this youth, traces of a faint smile appeared on Ren Qianxing’s face. This youth was even more interesting than himself back when he was a youth.
“You just couldn’t sit still, could you?” At this moment, a figure was treading through the air, approaching Ren Qianxing.
“How was he? Are you planning to induct him as one of the members of that plan?” That figure laughingly inquired.
Ren Qianxing cast a glance at the figure as he stated, “Personality wise, there is nothing wrong with Qin Wentian. At least, presently, there are no problems.”
“Look at him, creating such waves of turmoil, turning the academy topsy-turvy so soon after he joined. Are you not worried that he would become another him?” That figure continued smiling.
“It was merely the hot bloodedness of youth, nothing too remarkable. I was the same when I was young. And just like what you said, I’m still considering, I shall continue my observations first.” Ren Qianxing shook his head as he smiled bitterly. In the past, he had highly regarded another youth, but after time pa.s.sed, he realised that the youth he was nurturing was nothing but a wolf in sheepskin. That youth eventually grew so powerful that he had the power to eradicate the entire Emperor Star Academy.
As he thought of this, his heart couldn’t help but to shudder from pain. The him from back then had truly placed that youth from before in extremely high regards, sparing nothing to nurture him. However, the events that happened later constantly and mercilessly rended his heart.
After Qin Wentian left the mountain, he headed back in the direction of his dorm. As he entered the school grounds, several gazes were focused on him, revealing expressions of interest.
“It’s Qin Wentian. I heard that he was brought to the courtyard belonging to the Disciplinary Committee. Now that he came out safely, naturally, the committee didn’t do anything to him.”
“Talent merits special treatment. If it was someone else who killed such a peak-level genius like Murong Feng, they would surely end up in dire straits. However, Qin Wentian is someone whose talent is even higher than Murong Feng’s. The t.i.tle of number one belongs to him now.”
In the academy, many people were whispering and mumbling. If this was the case, wouldn’t the Knight’s a.s.sociation be extremely infuriated? They would surely not allow the matter to end like this.
——
Qin Wentian hastened his steps, and as he approached his dorm, he called out, “Fatty!”
Fan Le poked his head out of the door before walking out in Qin Wentian’s direction.
“Fatty, how are your injuries?” Qin Wentian contemplated Fan Le, only to see Fan Le grinning, “Nothing too major. Let’s go and walk about in the academy.”
“Good to hear that.” Qin Wentian took note of the s.h.i.+fty look in Fan Le’s eyes as puzzlement shone on his face. At the moment, the sound of someone sighing softly could be heard from within the dorm.
“Who’s inside our dorm?” Qin Wentian asked, his expressions flickering.
“Who else but Little Rascal? That little mutt must be scampering around, let’s go!” Fan Le pulled on the Qin Wentian’s arm, trying to lead him away. Qin Wentian remained motionless and swiftly made his way in the direction of the dorm. Very quickly, a figure with her head bowed walked out.
Sheena’s dainty hands were clutching her clothes. Her face was flushed with a redness comparable to the sunset. She secretly stole a few glance at Qin Wentian, and upon seeing his startled look, her face began to grow boiling hot.
“It’s not what you are thinking, I’m only here&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;. I’m only here to visit him.” Sheena stuttered.
“Alright.” Qin Wentian nodded his head at Sheena, causing the redness on her cheeks to deepen even further as she stomped her foot and turned to Fan Le, “It’s all your fault!”
Abruptly, Sheena turned and left at top speed, leaving behind the startled Qin Wentian, who looking at Fan Le in bewilderment. On his way here, he had been worried about that d.a.m.n fatty. It seemed like he was worrying for nothing.
“Fatty, you are awesome.” Qin Wentian extended his thumbs, showing a thumbs-up gesture.
“Although I know that you won’t believe whatever I say, I still have to say this: I don’t have any intents on Sheena.” Looking at the sneaky smile on Qin Wentian’s face, Fatty abruptly said with a straight face, “Actually, the one I like is you.”
Countless black lines appeared on Qin Wentian’s head. This time round, it was Fatty’s turn to shamelessly burst out into laughter. In addition, seeing how Fatty was humming a little tune while adopting an asking-to-be-beaten look on his face, Qin Wentian had no choice but to admit defeat.
“Let’s go to the honor courtyard to raise the levels of our medallions.” Fan Le strided forwards, Qin Wentian following close behind with lines of laughter on his face. The grades of their medallions were immediately raised to the 3rd level.
The battle earlier had concluded in their favor. Qin Wentian and Fan Le replaced the rankings of Murong Feng and Du Hao. And because they were now two of the top 3 students, they would be able to instantly upgrade their medallion to the 3rd level.
After raising the levels of their medallions, the two of them went to the Heavenly Star Pavilion. A 3rd level medallion would grant them access to the 3rd level of the Heavenly Star Pavilion.
The Heavenly Star Pavilion consisted of 9 levels. Each level stored several different cultivation arts as well as innate techniques. This time around, the two of them entered the 3rd level. The 3rd level of the pavilion consisted of top grade Arterial Circulation Realm cultivation arts as well as top-tier, human-grade innate techniques.
The Subduing Dragon Fists was precisely a top-tier, human-grade innate techniques.
The students of the Emperor Star Academy all had a question on their minds: in the Heavenly Star Pavilion, just what was stored in the levels above the 6th level? Hence, it was the wish of every student to be able to step into the pavilion’s 7th to 9th levels.
Rumor had it that once, in the history of the academy, there had been a student of monstrous apt.i.tude who once managed to enter those three levels. However, that student eventually ended up betraying the Emperor Star Academy and almost caused the entire academy to be destroyed. Regarding this rumor, the Emperor Star Academy had never once confirmed it, and thus, this remained a mere rumor&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;